Evaluation of the Transfer of Responsibility for Child Protective Services to Law Enforcement in Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties, Florida, 1995-2001 (ICPSR 3933)

Principal Investigator(s):Kinnevy, Susan C., University of Pennsylvania. School of Social Work. Center for Research on Youth and Social Policy

Summary:

In 1998 Florida law required that the responsibility for
child maltreatment investigations be transferred from a statewide
child welfare agency to the sheriff's offices in Manatee, Pasco, and
Pinellas Counties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes
produced by this change. This study used a nonequivalent control
group design. Performance in Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties was
compared to performance in selected counties before and after the
change in service took p... (more info)

In 1998 Florida law required that the responsibility for
child maltreatment investigations be transferred from a statewide
child welfare agency to the sheriff's offices in Manatee, Pasco, and
Pinellas Counties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes
produced by this change. This study used a nonequivalent control
group design. Performance in Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties was
compared to performance in selected counties before and after the
change in service took place. Data were obtained from the Florida
Abuse Hotline Information System (FAHIS), an online data system that
contained records of all reported incidents of abuse and neglect in
the state of Florida.

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Study Description

Citation

Kinnevy, Susan C. EVALUATION OF THE TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT IN MANATEE, PASCO, AND PINNELLAS COUNTIES, FLORIDA, 1995-2001. ICPSR version. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Work, Center for Research on Youth and Social Policy [producer], 2003. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2004. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03933.v1

Universe:
Parts 1 and 2: Reports of child maltreatment received by
the Florida Abuse Hotline between January 1995 and December
2000. Parts 3 and 4: Families involved in reports of child
maltreatment received by the Florida Abuse Hotline between January
1995 and December 2000. Parts 5 and 6: Children alleged to be victims
of maltreatment in reports received by the Florida Abuse Hotline
between January 1995 and December 2000.

Data Types:
administrative records data

Data Collection Notes:

The user guide and codebook are provided by ICPSR as
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site.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
In 1998 Florida law required that the
responsibility for child maltreatment investigations be transferred to
the Sheriff's Offices in Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties. The
investigations had previously been conducted by the Department of
Children and Families, a statewide child welfare agency. In Manatee
County the Sheriff's Office began accepting all maltreatment cases in
January 1998, in Pinellas County in November 1999, and in Pasco County
in April 2000. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes
produced by this change. The research questions that drove the
evaluation were: (1) Were the children who had been reported as abused
or neglected in the experimental counties safer as a result of the
transfer of responsibility for investigations to the sheriff's office?
(2) Were the perpetrators of criminal abuse or neglect more likely to
face criminal sanctions in a county where the sheriff's office
conducts maltreatment investigations? (3) Were there impacts or
consequences in other parts of the child welfare system as a result of
the transfer to the sheriff's office? and (4) Was the new system
created in the sheriff's office actually implemented as intended, and
were there implementation factors that affected the outcomes?

Study Design:
This study used a nonequivalent control group
design. Performance in Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties was
compared to performance in selected counties before and after the
change in service took place. Pinellas County was compared to
Hillsborough County, and Manatee and Pasco Counties were compared to
Lee County. Data were obtained from the Florida Abuse Hotline
Information System (FAHIS), an online data system that contained
records of all incidents of abuse and neglect reported in the state of
Florida. The hotline, located in Tallahassee, was a statewide service
run by the Department of Children and Families. Intake counselors
responded to phone reports of child maltreatment, decided which of the
reports would be accepted for investigation, and transmitted report
data to county field offices or sheriff's offices where investigations
were initiated. FAHIS records were updated as investigations proceeded
from initial visit through final court disposition. The study included
all reports of maltreatment that were received between January 1995
and December 2000. Data on investigations were included through August
2001. This study used data from four datasets obtained from the FAHIS
relational database: (1) a report dataset (one record per report with
records of four report types: Initial Abuse Report, Duplicate Report,
Additional Investigation Report, and Supplemental Information Report),
(2) a dependent dataset (one record per child [victim or other] per
incident), (3) a caretaker dataset (one record per adult [caretaker or
other] per incident), and (4) a reporter dataset (one record per
reporter). Due to the fact that Lee County was the comparison county
for both Manatee and Pasco Counties and Manatee and Pasco Counties
underwent the change in service at different dates, separate Lee
County data were created for the Manatee and Pasco comparisons. Parts
1, 3, and 5 contain the Lee County data used to compare Lee County to
Manatee County (and the data for the other four counties in the
study). Parts 2, 4, and 6 contain the Lee County data used to compare
Lee County to Pasco County. In Parts 1, 3, and 5, Lee County cases
reported between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 1997, are
identified as pre-experimental, and those reported between January 1,
1998, and December 31, 2000, are identified as post-experimental. In
Parts 2, 4, and 6, Lee County cases reported between January 1, 1995,
and March 31, 2000, are identified as pre-experimental, and those
reported between April 1, 2000, and December 31, 2000, are identified
as post-experimental. Part 1, Report Data -- Five Counties, was
created by merging those records marked as Initial Abuse Report from
the FAHIS report dataset and the reporter dataset and selected
variables from the dependent dataset. This file contains specific
information on reports and investigations, maltreatment allegations
and findings, summary information on victims and family members, and
dispositions. Part 2, Report Data -- Lee County, contains the same
data on Lee County as Part 1, except that different cases were
identified as pre- and post-experimental to allow comparison to Pasco
County. Part 3, Family Data -- Five Counties, was created using the
data in Part 1 and the FAHIS dependent dataset. This file includes
information on family-specific report history, summary information on
victims, abuse allegations, findings, and dispositions. Part 4, Family
Data -- Lee County, contains the same data on Lee County as Part 3
except that different cases were identified as pre- and
post-experimental to allow comparison to Pasco County. Part 5, Victim
Data -- Five Counties, was created from the dependent dataset by
including only reports that identified a dependent as a
victim. Reports were dropped that involved only a dependent who was
involved in an incident but not victimized by it. Part 6, Victim Data
-- Lee County, contains the same data on Lee County as Part 5 except
that different cases were identified as pre- and post-experimental to
allow comparison to Pasco County.

Sample:
Comparison counties were selected for two reasons: (1) they
were geographically close to the experimental counties (to minimize
travel costs), and (2) they were similar enough in terms of selected
demographic variables. Parts 3 and 4: If a report included multiple
families, it was not included in these files. Approximately 8 percent
of the reports included multiple families and were dropped. Families
that moved from one county to another during either the pre- or
post-experimental period were also excluded. Two percent of pre-stage
families and less than 0.1 percent of post-stage families were
eliminated for this reason. Families were not eliminated that only
changed residence counties across stages. Parts 3 and 5: Reports that
were entered during the transitional period in Manatee (July 1997
through December 1997) were excluded from these files for both Manatee
and Lee, Manatee's comparison county. During this period both the
Manatee Sheriff's Office and DCF handled investigations and it was
impossible to attribute outcomes to a specific agency. Parts 5 and 6:
Victims were excluded who changed their residence during either
experimental stage. Approximately 2 percent of pre-stage victims and
1.2 percent of post-stage victims were excluded for this reason.

Data Source:

Data were obtained from the the Florida Abuse Hotline
Information System (FAHIS).

Description of Variables:
Part 1, Report Data -- Five Counties, variables
include investigation close date, case priority status, number of
dependents in report, reporter type, whether the report was made
before or after the sheriff's takeover, number of family members in
the report, number of victims in report, number of substantiated
victims, and the ZIP code for the first child in the report. Part 1
also includes the following information for the first six children in
the report: interim placement, disposition code, disposition date,
race, gender, age, whether maltreatment was found, and the type of
maltreatment. Part 2, Report Data -- Lee County, contains the same
variables as Part 1. In Parts 3 through 6 pre-experimental and
post-experimental data were differentiated by creating two sets of
variables: one set identified as "pre" and the other as "post." As a
result, Parts 3 through 6 contain two sets of variables that provide
the same information but apply to different time periods. Part 3,
Family Data -- Five Counties, includes these variables for the pre-
and post-experimental periods: residence county, number of reports on
family, ethnicity of the first child in the first report on the
family, total substantiated reports on the family, number of victims
in each report, family ZIP code in first dependent record, and a
family maltreatment severity score. Part 3 also includes the following
information on the first six pre-experimental and the first six
post-experimental reports on each family: report received dates,
number of substantiated abuse victims, caretaker and dependent counts,
disposition index, whether maltreatment was found, type of
maltreatment, and investigation close date. Part 4, Family Data -- Lee
County, contains the same variables as Part 3 except that it does not
have family maltreatment severity scores. Part 5, Victim Data -- Five
Counties, includes these pre- and post-experimental variables:
residence county, gender, ethnicity, number of reports on dependent,
and number of reports substantiated. Part 5 also includes the
following information for the first 24 pre-experimental reports and
the first 12 post-experimental reports: report received date, age,
reporter type, interim placement, disposition index, disposition date,
whether maltreatment was found, type of maltreatment, and
investigation close date. Part 6, Victim Data -- Lee County, contains
the same variables as Part 5 except that Part 6 includes data on the
first 22 pre-experimental and the first seven post-experimental
reports.

Response Rates:
Not applicable.

Presence of Common Scales:
Part 3 includes a family maltreatment severity score.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release:2004-07-01

Version History:

2006-03-30 File UG3933.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File CB3933.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.